Feeding the Aztec Empire - the Chinampas

An ingenuity born out of resourcefulness of the Mesoamericans. The Chinampas sustained Mesoamericans for centuries even before the Aztecs rose to power. Its concept inspired solutions in answering today’s problems.

What are Chinampas?

Chinampas dazzled and even confused Spaniards when the 2 civilizations met in the 16th century. The word from the Nahuatl language referred to the parameter that formed this so-called “floating garden.” It primarily utilized the swampy lake shores in the Mexico valley.

Chinampa or chinamitl meant “enclosed by reeds” in the Nahuatl language. It described the fence erected during the initial stages of building chinampas. The first step in the building this agricultural and engineering marvel.

2 types of Chinampas existed: the Inlake and Inland chinampas. The Inlake, according to Angel Palem, used the lacustrine deposits that formed in the edges of the body of water. On the other hand, Inland, according to J.L. Lorenzo utilized the swampy terrains. The 2 types differed in the use of terrain which dictated the construction method.

The  Inlake required digging, while the other needed the layering of materials. Inlake Chinampas needed carving of ditches within the lacustrine deposits, forming rectangular plots and letting water flowed in it afterwards. The Inland chinampas required first the erection of reed fences to cordon off a rectangular area which will then be filled with different materials. The famous floating garden chinampas referred to this kind.

After the building of a fence  for Inland Chinampas, the farmer then begins to fill the inside of the rectangle. Like a tiramisu, layers of reed mat and mud with vegetation and lake soils formed until it stacked up to form a little islet. They then planted a willow tree called ahuexotl or ahuejote to hold the chinampas together and fasten it to the earth. Several meters of ditched filled water separated each chinampas to allow canoes to pass. Its appearance created myths about the chinampas.

When the Spaniards arrived in the Mexico Valley, their lack of understanding of the chinampas led to profound misconceptions. For instance they called the chinampas as “floating gardens” while in fact it formed via land reclamation and anchored into the earth through the willow tree. The fences and the water flowing in between gave the illusion of floating, hence the famous false imagery. Another misconception, the Aztecs did not have a monopoly of the chinampas as its history tells.

Hernan Cortez with La Malinche meeting Moctezuma II

History of Chinampas

It did not begin with the Aztecs. It originated with their neighbors the Culhuacans centuries before the foundation of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. Though it later turned into a strategic asset vital to the sustenance and rise of the Aztec empire.

The earliest Chinampas dated as far back as 1100 and tended by the Culhuacans. Its emergence came as a result of lack of wide plains for traditional agriculture. The Mesoamericans of then made do with the available terrain: swamps and lacustrine deposits in lakeshores. They turned this muddy yet nutrient rich soils into food providers.

As centuries passed, the use of chinampas grew to other areas. Few kilometers south of the Culhuacans, the area that came to be known as the “field of flowers” or, in Nahuatl, Xochimilco became a center of chinampa agriculture. It continued to expand to the nearby Chalco lake making both areas major food producers.

In 1325, the Aztecs or the Mexica entered the picture with the establishment of their capital Tenochtitlan. Located in the middle of Lake Texcoco, just north of Xochimilco-Chalco Lakes, they too relied for their survival on the chinampas. Their early leaders utilized them effectively, eventually contributing to the rise of the city from just another city-state to an Empire.

Acamapich or Acamapichtli, who ruled in the middle of the 14th century (1300s), used the chinampas to buy peace and time for the young Tenochtitlan. Back then the Mexica squatted in an inhospitable swamp and bowed to the nearby power, the city-state of Azcapotzalco of the Tepanecs and their leader Tezozomoc. Just as in an overlord and vassal relationship, Tenochtitlan must pay tribute to Azcapotzalco. Acamapichtli knew the amount of chinampas produced only sufficed for sustenance and not enough for tribute.

Acamapichtli

Death by war or by starvation stared upon the Mexica. According to later Spanish historian Diego Duran, through divine intervention, the god Huitzilopochtli gave instruction to Acamapichtli through his priests:

I have seen the affliction and the tears of the Aztecs. Tell them not to be anguished for I will bring them peace and spare them all this labor. Let them pretend to accept the payment of the tribute and tell my son Acamapichtli to be courageous. Let him take the willows and evergreen trees that are demanded of him! Let them make the raft in the form of a floating garden, let them sow upon it all the plants that are demanded of them. I will make everything simple for them.

The Mexica ruler followed the advice of the god who delivered on his revelations. The cultivation of chinampas in Tenochtitlan allowed them to meet tribute payments. It surprised Tezozomoc who said to have uttered:

Brethren, this has seemed to me almost a supernatural thing. When I ordered this to be done I thought it was an impossible task. Call the Aztecs now! I want you to realize that they are the chosen people of their god and that someday they will rule over all the nations of the earth.

Through the Chinampas, the Aztecs maintained peace and mustered their strength for the future.

Itzcoatl

Successors of Acamapichtli understood also the value of the chinampas. By then instead of preservation, then leaders Itzcoatl and his chief adviser Tlacaelel looked towards expanding Aztec power. They had plans for these floating gardens.

Itzcoatl, Tlacaelel and other leaders of neighboring states ganged up on Azcapotzalco and won. Tlacaelel wanted Tenochtitlan to fill the void left by the defeated city-state. He looked at food self-sufficiency in the form of Xochimilco-Chalco Lakes. And so they annexed those lands and expanded further the cultivation of chinampas.

A Strategic Asset

Chinampas’ productivity made it a valuable factor not just in survival, but also the expansion of the Aztec Empire. The richness of its soil and constant availability of moisture made it bountiful. Whoever controlled Xochimilco-Chalco controlled the Empire.

A lot of crops grew on chinampas. These ranged from the Mesoamerican staple of maize and beans, squash, tomatoes, chili peppers, and also flowers. Much of the Mesoamerican diet grew on these gardens.

First drawing of Maize shown
to Europe from the Florentine Codex

Large harvest came to those working on the chinampas, but it required large manpower to maintain. It allowed 7 harvest seasons annually, but, in terms of maintenance, a man had a capacity to manage one-half and three quarters of a hectare of chinampas which produced food enough for 15 to 20 people. Unfortunately, it took around thousands of people to maintain 120 sq. km. of chinampas of Xochimilco-Chalco.

The maintenance ranged from dredging the ditches in between the chinampas to digging of canals and tending the crops. The Aztec state provided the organization of manpower to maintain such lands.

Xochimilco-Chalco in one way or the other provided 60% of Tenochtitlan’s food needs. Through rent and tribute the state directly received the produce, but the farmers had the option of selling surplus to the markets. The chinampas sustained the vast capital city of more than 100,000 that greeted the Spaniards.

During the battle between the Aztecs and the Spaniards along with their allies, the chinampas of Xochimilco-Chalco played a crucial role. Its capture by the Spaniards and allies contributed to the weakening of the already sick-ridden capital. Eventually, Tenochtitlan fell and the rise of the Spaniards gradually eroded the significance of the chinampas in the colony’s agricultural landscape.

Fall of Tenochtitlan

Chinampas Today

Chinampa tradition continues to live to this day. Its concept later paralleled modern agricultural techniques. It also inspired solutions to the growing food problems amidst the booming global population.

Today, Xochimilco-Chalco continues to be a center of chinampas. It served as a window to the rich agricultural tradition and history of the past. Though climate change and pollution threatened its existence.

On the other hand, the concept of the chinampas proved to be useful for modern agricultural techniques. For instance, the chinampas paralleled hydroponics in the constant availability of water or moisture to grow plants. Albeit the difference lies in the type of water. The chinampas relied on fresh lake water while hydroponics in chemically enriched fluids.

As the population continues to grow today, scientists and farmers looked for inspiration. Chinampas offered such inspiration for the value of efficient land use. Researchers such as Roland Ebel of Montana State University mulled the idea of using chinampas in lakes of South America and rivers of Europe. 

Chinampas, a result of resourcefulness and ingenuity, inspire varying ideas. From survival in difficult terrain, to feeding the stomachs of warriors that built an empire, it now becomes a concept that helps in creating solutions for fending off starvation for today’s growing population and changing environment.

See Also:

History of the Aztecs

Bibliography:

Websites:
“Our History.” Chinampas’ Xochimilco. Accessed on July 20, 2024. URL: https://www.chinampasxochimilco.com/our-history 

Fagan, Laureen. Ancient Aztec Chinampas Hold Promise for Urban Agriculture. In Sustainability Times. Accessed on July 28, 2024. URL: https://www.sustainability-times.com/clean-cities/ancient-aztec-chinampas-hold-promise-for-urban-agriculture/

Vasiloudis, Dimosthenis. “'Chinampas': The Ancient Aztec Floating Gardens That Hold Promise For Future Urban Agriculture.” The Archaeologist. Accessed on July 20, 2024. URL: https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/chinampas-the-ancient-aztec-floating-gardens-that-hold-promise-for-future-urban-agriculture#:~:text=The%20History%20of%20Chinampas,growth%20of%20the%20Aztec%20civilization.

Books:
Cline, S.L. Colonial Culhuacan, 1580-1600: A Social History of an Aztec Town. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 1986.

Duran, Diego. Aztecs: The History of the Indies of New Spain. Translated by Doris Heyden & Fernando Horcasitas, New York, New York: Orion Press, 1964.

General References:
Rabiela, Teresa Rojas. “Chinampa Agriculture.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Edited by David Carrasco et. at. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Parsons, Jefferey. "The Role of Chinampa Agriculture in the Food Supply of Aztec Tenochtitlan." In Cultural Change and Continuity: Essays in Honor of James Bennett Griffin edited by Charles Cleland. New York, New York: Academic Press, Inc., 1976.